QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

HOME  |   SEARCH  |   ARCHIVE  |   SUBSCRIBE  |   CONTACT  |   HELP

The Journal of Neuroscience, January 24, 2007, 27(4):762-770; doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2992-06.2007

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Submit an eLetter Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (4) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Mazarío, J. Articles by Basbaum, A. I. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Mazarío, J. Articles by Basbaum, A. I.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Behavioral/Systems/Cognitive
Contribution of Substance P and Neurokinin A to the Differential Injury-Induced Thermal and Mechanical Responsiveness of Lamina I and V Neurons

Javier Mazarío¹ and Allan I. Basbaum²

¹Laboratorio de Función Sensitivomotora, Hospital Nacional de Parapléjicos, 45071 Toledo, Spain, and ²Departments of Anatomy and Physiology and W. M. Keck Center for Integrative Neuroscience, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California 94158

Correspondence should be addressed to Javier Mazarío, Laboratorio de Función Sensitivomotora, Hospital Nacional de Parapléjicos, 45071 Toledo, Spain. Email: jmazario{at}sescam.jccm.es

In a previous report, we compared the properties of lamina V neurons of the spinal cord dorsal horn in wild-type mice and in mice with a deletion of the preprotachykinin-A (PPT-A) gene, which encodes substance P (SP) and neurokinin A (NKA). The mutant mice had pronounced deficits in the response to thermal stimulation, both before and after mustard oil induced sensitization. Here, we extended our analysis to the properties of lamina I neurons and also examined responsiveness to mechanical stimulation. Consistent with the properties of lamina V neurons, in the PPT-A mutant mice we found significantly reduced responses of lamina I neurons to noxious thermal stimulation, and mustard oil sensitization of these neurons to heat was lost. In contrast, not only were the responses of lamina I neurons to noxious mechanical stimulation unchanged in the mutant mice, but in neither the wild-type nor the mutant mice could sensitization be induced. However, mustard oil profoundly sensitized lamina V neurons to mechanical stimulation in both wild-type and mutant mice. We conclude that SP and/or NKA are required for the transmission of noxious thermal stimulation by lamina I and V neurons, both before and after tissue injury. The persistence of mechanical sensitization of lamina V neurons in the mutant mice further shows that mustard oil induces mechanical and thermal sensitization through different mechanisms. Finally, we conclude that lamina I sensitization to mechanical stimulation is not required for this form of injury-increased responsiveness of lamina V neurons.

Key words: pain; tachykinins; mustard oil; knock-out; dorsal horn; allodynia

---

Received July 14, 2006; revised Dec. 13, 2006; accepted Dec. 13, 2006.

Correspondence should be addressed to Javier Mazarío, Laboratorio de Función Sensitivomotora, Hospital Nacional de Parapléjicos, 45071 Toledo, Spain. Email: jmazario{at}sescam.jccm.es

This article has been cited by other articles:

				M. D. Boada and C. J. Woodbury Myelinated Skin Sensory Neurons Project Extensively throughout Adult Mouse Substantia Gelatinosa J. Neurosci., February 27, 2008; 28(9): 2006 - 2014. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. W. Merrill, J. M. Cuellar, J. H. Judd, M. I. Carstens, and E. Carstens Effects of TRPA1 Agonists Mustard Oil and Cinnamaldehyde on Lumbar Spinal Wide-Dynamic Range Neuronal Responses to Innocuous and Noxious Cutaneous Stimuli in Rats J Neurophysiol, February 1, 2008; 99(2): 415 - 425. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home  |   Search  |   Archive  |   Subscribe  |   Contact  |   Help